Weekend Update Unlocked

Reviewing the cannabis landscape.

The following is a sampling of Cannabis Confidential content—random paragraph grabs, charts and notes, interesting happenings and other stuff— from last week.

You can click the title to access any article; most of the insight and analysis is behind the paywall and you can access a free trial by clicking below; thanks for your support.

Moon Over Miami

U.S. canna stirs down south.

February 20, 2024

Vice-President Kamala Harris’s office has been reaching out to people who received a pardon for cannabis possession under the president’s clemency proclamations to offer assurances that the DOJ certification process is going smoothly.

Tiger Tales

Missouri sold more than $1.4 billion worth of legal cannabis during the first year of adult-use sales, or about $1.13 billion in adult-use and another $280 million via MMJ.

Since the state’s first MMJ sales in October 2020, licensed retailers in Missouri have reported more than $2 billion in legal cannabis product sales.

Jesse Pinkman Knew

New research has found that daily users of crystal meth who turned to cannabis to manage cravings used the stimulant drug less, especially female users. The findings suggest a new harm-reduction strategy is needed for people who use illicit drugs.

“Our findings are not conclusive but do add to the growing scientific evidence that cannabis might be a beneficial tool for some people who want to better control their unregulated stimulant use, particularly for people who use crystal meth.”

Cannabis may be the gateway out of drug addiction

Catalyst Check

Mooseknuckle Rebalancing

Perhaps this is why the recent pullback has felt more onerous than usual despite what's been more or less business-as-usual; check the second chart from Viridian.

Time Passages

U.S. canna awaits it's turn.

February 21, 2024

Marijuana remains in an odd legal limbo in the U.S., and there's one organization at the center of it all: the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The DEA has for decades held that marijuana is among the most dangerous, highly addictive drugs that has no medical value despite growing state laws, 252-pages of fresh medical evidence and mounting popular opinion to the contrary.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire could join its New England peers and become the 25th state in the nation to legalize adult-use cannabis with House lawmakers set to take up legislation Feb. 22 on the chamber’s floor.

They’ll look to move legislation that can gain traction in a historically resistant Senate and please a governor who’s already pledged support for an adult-use program as long as certain conditions are met.

The Perl is Back in Town

“He and his former deputy chief of staff quickly registered to lobby on the latest version of the SAFER Banking Act, which bipartisan negotiators in the House and Senate are reportedly nearing a deal on.

AGP Previews U.S. Cannabis Earnings:

Aim High

Vets push for pot progress.

February 22, 2024

Former Rep. Ed Perlmutter has landed a second lobbying client since leaving office, working to advance the cannabis banking legislation that he spearheaded while in Congress on behalf of an industry trade group. Bipartisan negotiators in the House and Senate are reportedly nearing a deal on the SAFER Banking Act, per Politico.

Veteran Leadership

Some of the nation’s largest veterans groups are pushing the Biden administration to “expeditiously” ease federal restrictions on marijuana, joining a growing number of calls to reschedule the drug six months after the Department of Health and Human Services recommended doing so.

In a letter first obtained by NBC News, veterans groups urged the Justice Department, which oversees the DEA, to act quickly.

Super Troopers

A group of law enforcement leaders also urged the President to reclassify marijuana to a lesser status in a letter today.

“We are current and former police chiefs, sheriffs, federal and state prosecutors, and correctional officials from across the country dedicated to protecting public safety and reducing unnecessary arrests, prosecutions, and incarceration. We urge the Administration to reclassify marijuana from a schedule I to a schedule III.”

German Shepherd

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach expressed confidence that parliament would vote to partially legalize cannabis in Germany tomorrow despite some doubts floating around in other parts of the government.

"This is an important improvement in our drug policy. With this law, we will achieve a significant reduction in the black market, better protection for children and young people and a safer product for older consumers."

Stripes

Cannaland found an early bid this morning as the news within the news—that two sources suggested "a formal decision from the DEA is expected soon, potentially in the coming weeks"—made the rounds.

Obviously, we’re all tired of the talk—this sector demands a legitimate walk, if not a slow jog at this point—but for a space stuck in twin ethers of time and price, the report served as a reminder that our binary Phase III clinical trial results are coming.

Guten Tag

Germany moves to legalize cannabis.

February 23, 2024

Germany’s parliament officially approved a bill to legalize marijuana nationwide.

The bill, which will legalize possession and home cultivation and authorize social clubs, now moves to the Bundesrat, a separate legislative chamber, although they cannot stop the reform from being enacted.

Exit Drug

New Jersey’s top marijuana regulator says the state officially surpassed $2 billion in medical and recreational marijuana sales since 2018 and he encouraged lawmakers to explore the possibility of giving medical cannabis patients a home grow option.

“I would love for the CRC to take credit for this, but it’s really the entrepreneurs who have been putting their money, their lives and their dreams on the line to make this happen.”

Southern Comfort

A day after a Virginia House panel approved a new compromise bill to legalize retail cannabis sales, a Senate committee also advanced the deal. If both chambers pass the legislation, they’ll send it to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who has thus far been resistant to move forward on a legal sales framework.

Under the proposed bill, retail stores would open no earlier than May 1, 2025 and sales would be taxed at a reasonable 9%.

A Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Barbara Lee

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) told Marijuana Moment that she’s “opposed” to moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, “because sometimes an incremental step like this, which took years, means it’ll take another 50 years to get to legalization.”

Lee said that while she hasn’t heard anything directly about whether DEA will accept the Schedule III recommendation, “I assume that they are and I’m getting ready.”👀

MSOS closed near session highs and importantly, recaptured it’s Sept. closing high…

Freddy Benson Gomes of ATB: Will Cannabis Look Like Tobacco?

Parade Sighting

Enjoy your weekend, stay safe and please enjoy responsibly.

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CB1 has positions in / advises some of the companies mentioned and nothing contained herein should be considered advice.